Lucky Charms and Changing Fate

Michael Jordan—a graduate of North Carolina—always wore his blue N.C. shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck.

USA skeleton skater Noelle Pikus-Pace (pictured) keeps a snapshot of her daughter in her helmet.

The histories of superstition and sports have intertwined for centuries, supposedly even the ancient Greeks carried a lucky stone to the Olympic Games.

But do the powers of lucky charms really work?

New research suggests that they do make a difference. They give us more persistence, memory, and accuracy.

But they can also give us false confidence.

Racetrack regulars see it every day. There’s always someone who feels that today's his special moment, his reason for living, for being here at this moment, and placing his lucky bet.

David Canetty wore his lucky brown suit to cheer the horse he co-owns, "Always a Party," at the Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, N.Y. The brown suit had proven lucky two years ago at the Preakness Stakes when another horse he’d co-owned, finished second.  It was a 40-to-one long shot.  But at the Aqueduct today, "Always a Party" was bumped early and the jockey went flying.

Later, Mr. Canetty, promising to buy a "better suit," threw the brown one away.

But how about pitcher Turk Wendell, who brushes his teeth and chews licorice between every inning?

And how about me? 

I used to carry a Swiss 5 Frank piece in the change compartment of my wallet, but it slipped out a few years ago, and I forgot about it until yesterday.  It used to be important and suddenly it is again.

I had brought it back from my trip to Europe in 1969--when Neil Armstrong walked the moon, Teddy Kennedy parked his car on the bottom of Chappequidick, and Charles Manson and his girls roamed the tony streets of L.A.

Has the world since collapsed?  Not quite, but I wonder.  We've been fighting an endless war on two fronts, and during this time have seen lots of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and stock market failures.

Though most of us avoided ruin, it's not natural to keep tempting fate.   In fact, don't tempt anything without a lucky something in your pocket or a ritual that can offer a modicum of confidence. 

Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra gets dressed the same way every day, making sure to step on each dugout step with both feet, tug at his batting gloves, and tap his toes during each time at bat.

So am I nuts, I wonder, backing away from the computer and grabbing my purse.  I'm on the way to a coin store, suddenly in a rush to search for Swiss money, hoping to get me a five.

Wish me luck

 ( note to all my friends.  I'm going out to California, so I'll be missing a couple blogs, but I'll be back with lots more to say.   I'll miss ya)